Egypt reported 680 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, in a latest drop in daily infections detected in the past weeks, bringing the total infections tally to 161,143. According to an official statement, the health ministry reported 49 new fatalities, bringing the death toll from the pandemic since the outbreak last year to 8,902. The statement said that 573 patients have been discharged after recovering from the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to 126,176. Egypt entered the second wave of the pandemic in the last week of December, recording double the number of infections daily.
However, it continues to see a drop in cases since last week, reporting under 1,000 cases in daily infections. The drop comes as Egypt scaled up efforts to curtail the recent spike, including enforcing an immediate fine of EGP 50 (approximately $3.16) on those not wearing face masks in public and reducing workforce attendance in public premises, in addition to cancelling in-class education and postponing first-term exams at schools and universities.
